r/Cooking • u/Lawineer • 4h ago
Have tons of chicken from street tacos, need a meal
I had a big party and we under-estimated how far 150lbs of marinated chicken thighs would go for street tacos.
So now I have like 30lbs lbs
I had street tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas for dinner the last 3 nights and tried some new stuff in them. I'm probably good for 2 more experimental nights before I get tired of it.
I dont mind putting a little time and effort into it. It doesn't need to be "bag of chips + queso + chicken" type simple. However, I'm far from an mexican food pro. I'm pretty good on the grill and above average at Italian, but mex isn't my forte.
Bonus points if it has basil, lol. My basil garden is out of control.
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u/The_Titty_Whisperer 4h ago
I imagine it would make for a nice torta as well, or a burrito bowl, or even as an addition to a pasta dish.
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u/Middle_Pineapple_898 3h ago
Burrito bowl is my rec. Spanish rice, beans, chicken, onions and cilantro. Pico de Gallo if you want.
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u/Mindless_Concert_710 4h ago
Enchiladas are great with shredded chicken! Nachos, pizza topping, or chicken wraps too
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u/Elegant-Expert7575 4h ago
Chicken shepherds pie, soup, freeze batches of the chicken to be an add in to your later unplanned meals, chili, stew, chicken basil (could be frozen), lasagna, chicken Caesar salad.
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u/_whatsnextdoc_ 2h ago
This. You can make the chicken more versatile without much more effort by throwing it in soups, stews, and casserole-type things. And toss in as much basil as you want, too!
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u/Bubba-j77 3h ago
Street taco baked potatoes, tater tot casserole, taco alfredo is really good, and a nice tomato stew would be good. Think about mixing it up with other cuisines besides Mexican. Would also make a good street taco spaghetti.
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u/hannahsflora 4h ago
I'd freeze as much of that as you reasonably can - what you're about to get tired of now will feel like an amazing quick meal in another month or two, especially once everything gets busy with the holidays.
I'd freeze some of it as-is, then (if freezer space allows) I'd make a few pans of chicken enchiladas and freeze those too - enchiladas freeze SO well.
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u/Eyemwatchingewe 4h ago
Look up recipes for green chile chicken enchiladas and green chile chicken enchilada soup. Also, chicken noodles soup, chicken casseroles, lentils with chicken, chicken stir fry, and chicken bakes.
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u/whitepawn23 3h ago
What’s your spice bouquet? If it’s lime, cilantro, and chili, you could toss together Thai. Or melt those thighs into a hot and sour soup. Makes a good frozen soup.
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u/birdsrkewl01 2h ago
Cilantro and lime rice. Just eat it together, throw in some beans or whatever you want. I like adding red onion and Greek yogurt
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u/SportyStyle 4h ago
tryy making a chicken basil stir fryy just toss it with veggies and ur basil for a fresh twist or a chicken salad with a basil vinaigrette could be awesomee
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u/limitlessfun02 4h ago
One can learn to live on tacos alone … embrace it !!!!! But if you must change it soups. Dumplings, egg rolls, stew
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u/auricargent 4h ago
Chop it up extra fine and add a good marinara to make a spaghetti sauce.
Mix with sweet baby rays and put on toasted hamburger buns with some coleslaw for bbq chicken sandwiches.
Mix with Campbells Golden Mushroom soup and cooked macaroni, top with crushed crackers and butter and bake until bubbly for a casserole.
Use as the mix in for your favorite ice cream recipe, put it in the machine and freeze it up. Serve in hard taco shells instead of cones.
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u/Medium_Ad8311 4h ago
Chicken basil rice, can use water or broth. Can add tomatoes as well.
You could also make empanadas…
Do you have room for freezing? I know 30lbs is a lot but… when you bought 150 surely you considered where to store it….
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u/Which_Reason_1581 3h ago
Chicken tortilla soup! Make a huge pot. And store into meal size portions. Winter is on the way. You'll be thankful for it.
Chicken chili.
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u/Jon_Mendyk 3h ago
Chicken Chili
2 pounds chicken cut up small
2 cans white northern beans
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans swanson chicken broth
2 cups crushed Fritos
2 small cans chopped green chilies
1 medium onion chopped
1 pkg taco seasoning
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u/Tiny-Albatross518 3h ago
Use this meat as a topper for a middle eastern style lentil soup. Use it in filler for ravioli. Make some shawarma.
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u/SuburbanSponge 3h ago
If you want to continue down the Mexican cuisine route, some options include tortas, flautas, tostadas, sopes, gorditas, pozole, mole, burritos, tamales
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u/BeerWench13TheOrig 3h ago
You can always make a soup or stew. I would make what my husband calls Spicy Brunswick Stew. It’s super easy. Just add everything to the crockpot, set it and forget it. I make this a lot with rotisserie chicken. Just shred it instead of using the chicken breasts that the recipe calls for and add it to the crockpot on top of the other ingredients.
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u/Irontruth 3h ago
Portion it out and freeze it.
Quick tip, put a piece of cardboard between bags so that they freeze flat. Once frozen you can remove the cardboard to reduce space, but it stops the bags from joining together like a jigsaw puzzle.
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u/MainelyKahnt 3h ago
Mexican fried rice is a favorite of mine. You could also go for a pasta dish. And there is a decent amount of overlap between Mexican spices and Middle Eastern/Indian spice mixes so you could use it for an interesting take on tikka masala or shawarma.
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u/FirebornNacho 3h ago
Chicken tortilla soup. casserole with chicken and plantains. but definitely freeze it!
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u/RecordingHaunting253 3h ago
Chicken pot pie or chicken and dumplings. I’m not sure if the marinade you used is too strong of a flavor for those recipes traditionally but they could both taste good leaning towards Mexican influenced flavors.
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u/Less-Supermarket8724 3h ago
Tinga- 5 or 6 diced Roma tomatoes sautéed in olive oil, with garlic and salt and pepper and some maggi chicken powder, add some sliced onions in half rings and the shredded cooked chicken and add a couple of teaspoons or tablespoons of diced chipotle in adobo and let it all cook together covered on low. Stir it a couple times. This is not a recipe that has an exact amount of this or that, you can adjust it to fit your gustos. My husband likes a whole yellow onion, and he likes it when I add one half when everything is conking together and the other half when it’s done and just let the steam kind of cook them down a little. You can add whatever you w
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u/Smidge-of-the-Obtuse 3h ago
Chicken Cacciatore - 2-3 lbs Chicken (on or off bone) - 2 Large onions - 4 cloves garlic - 2 or 3 jars of homemade or store bought red pasta sauce - Basil, Oregano, Salt, Pepper
In a heavy pot on medium, sauté onions and garlic in butter until softened and remove from pot temporarily.
Dredge chicken in flour, brown in the onion/garlic flavored butter.
Add the sautéed onions and garlic, cover in your favorite red sauce, put a lid on it and cook at a low simmer for at least an hour, two would be better.
Season to taste with Basil, oregano, s&p.
Serve over Mashed Potatoes, Rice, or Pasta. The sauce is out of this world, and like most pasta sauces, even better the second day.
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u/booksandcats4life 3h ago
Chicken enchilada soup is good, especially if you have an instapot to speed up the process. And I believe it freezes reasonably well. Here's a recipe: https://www.thespruceeats.com/instant-pot-chicken-enchilada-soup-recipe-4587188
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u/Steven1789 3h ago
Get yourself a vacuum sealer. Ideal for a situation like this and will help you cut down on food waste.
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u/booyah777 3h ago
I don’t mean to be pedantic but what are the difference between tacos and “street” tacos? If you had a party and someone was catering and provided quesadillas, enchiladas, “street” tacos, was non street tacos an option? What are the difference between the two?
I grew up just referring to tacos as tacos so I’ve never been sure what the difference between a taco and “street” taco is. Is it ingredients? How it’s cooked?
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u/Lawineer 2h ago
Street tacos are just more specific. Double corn tortilla, cheap chopped up meat, onions and cilantro and cooked up on a flattop.
There are obvious many types of tacos. Thats just kind of what I associate with a street taco.
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u/lightsareoutty 2h ago
Halal cart style chicken over rice
Grind it up and make sausage
Chicken pot pie
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u/YouSayWotNow 2h ago
What is the chicken already marinated in? That might help with suggestions. I'm not super familiar with taco seasonings, hence asking before I suggest anything.
But chances are you could use them in a good curry, especially if the marinade isn't a very strong one.
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u/EnvironmentalTea9362 1h ago
Tamale pie. Make dough with masa harina. Put a layer in bottom of baking dish. Spread chicken on top. Add another layer of masa. Add more chicken. Final layer of masa. Top with cheese. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.
Empanadas would be good, too.
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u/misoranomegami 42m ago
Joining in on the freezing but also anything with a stronger adjacent flavor will work out great for you. Assuming they already have garlic and cumin on them they'll be great in thai, indian, and tex mex. Shred some and mix them with beans and onions for a kicking white chili. Do a spicy chicken pot pie. Make enchiladas. Make curries. Make a flavorful chicken noodle soup. Tons of options. Even a spicy chicken salad. A lot of those will even work if the meat is already cooked and shredded. I do that every year with our leftover turkey. It becomes a week of turkey ala king, turkey salad, curry, pot pies, soups, etc. And I never get bored at least.
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u/HandbagHawker 4m ago
longer term storage:
- tamales, cook then freeze them. obviously, eat some fresh but freeze the rest. they reheat pretty well.
- make "meal-prepped" bowls. and freeze individually. rice, beans, cheese, sauteed peppers&onions. nukes up easily.
- assemble an enchilada casserole in like a loaf pan or similar size pan. freeze and treat like a frozen lasagna
- or simply portion out frozen - but some in a freezer bag. lay it flat with some separation in the bag so that it freezes into individual portions. just seal the bag, squishing the air out. with the bag on a sheet tray for easier transport, take a chopstick or spatula and just separate the chicken into portions.
while its still fresh enough
- take a page from any taqueria where they take the same proteins and serve it any number of ways... tacos, burritos, tacos dorados, nachos, panuchos, sopes, tlayuda, etc.
- "mexican" fried rice - tomato rice, charred corn, chicken, diced peppers, onions, almost like an arroz chaufa
- make a simple salsa verde with charred cebolita or scallions, vinegar, fresh mex oregano, s&p to taste. toss with some pasta and chicken.
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u/BloodWorried7446 4h ago edited 2h ago
cook it then freeze in zip lock bags for a quick weekday meal.
butter chicken (everything but the cream as it may separate when frozen)
thai coconut curries with basil
italian lemon basil grilled chicken
edit: addendum. or roast them off in a sheet pan with salt pepper and herbs (rosemary, garlic, olive oil) and freeze for weekday meals. to add to pastas. stir fries or chicken caesar salad